dragonflies

A Writing Conference, a Publication Note, and Summer

Rae SpencerLeave a comment

Iris May 7

I recently registered for the 2015 Hampton Roads Writers’ Conference. (September 17-19 in Virginia Beach) This conference is one of my favorite events each year, and I’m already counting the days.

In other writing news, my poem “The Tracking” was published on May 12 at vox poetica. A version of this poem won first place in the Barbara Dunn Hartin Memorial Poetry Prize contest at the 2014 Hampton Roads Writers Conference, and I’m delighted that editor Annmarie Lockhart accepted it for publication.

Dragonfly June 11

And in news only vaguely related to writing, I’ve been spending a lot of time with my camera. Despite summer’s growing heat and humidity, the yard is hard to resist this time of year. Everything is blooming, the baby rabbits are thriving, and birds are everywhere.

Hover Fly May 12

Rabbit June 12

Robin May 15

Thrush June 10

In mid-May a dove decided to nest in the front petunia basket. Now her two nestlings are ready to fledge.

Dove May 18

May 18

Dove June 11

June 11

The yard’s most curious visitor, lately, is a very bold squirrel that follows me around as I take photos. If I sit still for a while, he sidles closer and closer until he is within a few feet, pretending he is burying something nearby. His jaw quivers nervously as he mumbles and grinds his teeth, but he comes back time and time again. It makes me wonder if he was raised by a rehabilitator, if he somehow equates humans with food and safety, yet also with peril.

I’m trying not to encourage the squirrel’s behavior, but I can’t resist photographing him. He’s very handsome.

Squirrel June 11

If he hangs around much longer, I might write him into a poem.

From the Dragonfly Archive

Rae SpencerLeave a comment

Dragonfly June 26

Today’s gray gloom can’t be conquered by normal means.

Dragonfly July 25

Blankets and hot chocolate are no match for the wind’s creak and scrape.

Dragonfly July 23

Even the cats have given up. They’ve abandoned their interest in my newly reorganized guest room/office and curled up in their favorite beds.

Dragonfly July 5

I would join their willful hibernation if I could, but my to-do list is on the verge of collapsing under its own weight and becoming a singularity from which I can never escape.

Dragonfly Aug 24

So, when sleep is not an option, the only remaining cure for a day like today is dragonflies.

Dragonfly July 28

Lots and lots of dragonflies.

Dragonfly July 26

I feel better already.

Recovering from a Wintry Week

Rae Spencer2 Comments

Window April 22

*Cue Announcer* 

We now return to our regularly scheduled season, already in progress…

Live Oak April 13

Dragonfly April 14

Green

Wax Myrtle April 22

Squirrel

Rabbit April 22

Petunia April 21

Flowers April 2

Honeysuckle April 22

Maple April 21

Bee in Tulip April 22

Hampton Roads Writers, 5th Annual Writers’ Conference

Rae Spencer8 Comments

Dragonfly July 7

I have not been writing.

I think about writing all the time. I plan outlines and schedules, every week, then discard them in favor of errands and yard work. I compose poem fragments in my head as I fold laundry, then move on to my next task without pausing to write them down.

For most of the last two years, I have been a writer who does not write.

Dragonfly July 7

I can’t claim writer’s block, because the words are there. In fact, I’m somewhat surprised by the words’ persistence. I’ve been ignoring them for a very, very long time, and they continue to clamor for attention. It’s like being under siege.

Dragonfly July 7

Over this past month, the words began to win. I looked at the HRW conference website two or three times. I read through the schedule. I printed the registration form.

I decided to submit a short story and poem to the free contests and spent a few days revising my entries. Then I decided to submit the first ten pages of my stalled work-in-progress for the optional critique and spent a few more days revising. Before I knew it, I had fallen into a routine. I was writing again. Every day.

Dragonfly July 7

My registration packet is in the mail, and I’m still writing. Every day. I don’t know if my renewed focus will last, because I went through a similar surge last year after returning home from the conference. But, for now, the words have won. I am a writer who writes.

Dragonfly July 8

Dragonfly Season

Rae Spencer10 Comments

Blue Dasher Male June 27

A wave of dragonflies arrived this week, washed into the yard by the rising tides of summer’s heat.

Blue Dasher June 28

Blue Dashers are by far the most numerous, claiming spots near the ground in all of the iris beds.

Blue Dasher June 28

Blue Dasher June 29

Great Blue Skimmers seem to prefer the slightly higher perches provided by our trellises.

Dragonfly June 27

Higher yet, in the wax myrtle canopy, Halloween Pennants pivot in the wind like miniature weather vanes.

Halloween Pennant June 28

(At first glance, the next dragonfly seemed to be another Halloween Pennant, but the camera’s zoom function revealed inconsistent wing patterns. After consulting a few online resources, I believe this is either a female Common Whitetail or a Twelve-Spotted Skimmer. Please comment if you can correct or confirm my identifications!) [Update added June 30: Possibly a Painted Skimmer, see comment from Gillian.]

Dragonfly June 29

These new dragonflies join an already-established population of Eastern Pondhawks, which began arriving in late May.

Eastern Pondhawk June 29

Eastern Pondhawk June 29

Now, no matter where I look in the yard, I find dragonflies. Summer wouldn’t feel the same without them.